Underdog spirit powers historic MKM Stadium upset

An hour after the full-time whistle Acun Ilicali retreated to a quiet corner of the chairman’s lounge inside the MKM Stadium. Hull City had produced an opening day for the ages in East Yorkshire after overcoming Manchester United and the owner believes he can point to the root of the upset.

"The secret today was that our boys were dying to win," Hull’s owner tells The Athletic. "I didn’t see Manchester United in this mood. That was the separation of these two teams. You look at the tackles in the game and you could understand which team was wanting more."

A team widely written off after winning promotion through the Championship play-offs had found too much for an opponent that will return to the Champions League under Michael Carrick this season. Two first-half goals from set pieces were behind a 2-0 victory, Hull’s first in the league against United since 1974, but the three points owed nothing to fortune.

Three advantages for survival

Ilicali saw a blueprint for survival captured within those opening 90 minutes of the campaign.

"We have three advantages this season," he adds. "First we are the underdog, second everyone thinks we are weak and the third advantage is that we play with heart. "I see in many teams that they don’t have that. It doesn’t matter how rich you are, you can go to a comfort zone and sometimes your priorities can change. For our players, our success is the only priority."

The return to the top flight for the first time since 2017 revealed no nerves or anxiety, only a momentum carried over from their dramatic promotion in May. Three points, up and running in style.

"It’s too early to celebrate," he said in his post-match assessment. "But I can guarantee that all day we will talk about the game. Again and again."

Promotion journey and pre-match mood

Eighty family members and friends had joined Ilicali in travelling to watch Manchester United’s visit from his native Turkey, where he has created a media empire and the funds needed to purchase Hull in 2021. "At Wembley it was 300," he explains. "I had to bring a plane. A Boeing."

That was to witness the moment that brought Hull back to the top table of English football. A 1-0 win over Middlesbrough in the Championship play-off final in May added a full stop to the Spygate saga written by Southampton and completed the club’s fourth promotion to the Premier League since 2008.

Sixteen months ago Hull were avoiding relegation to League One on the final day of the season, a disastrous campaign that saw Ilicali fire two managers, Tim Walter and Ruben Selles. The following summer brought an EFL transfer embargo that halted spending and concerns for the direction of travel but also Sergej Jakirovic, the imposing architect of last season’s promotion.

Ilicali expects to see a new three-year deal signed off by his manager, a title winner in Croatia with Dinamo Zagreb, next week. "We are agreed in all terms and we are renewing the contract," he says. "For us, this conversation was not more than five minutes. Really, I am not joking. In five minutes we did this."

Matchday at the MKM

A first game as a Premier League club owner saw him arrive 50 minutes before kick-off and head straight to pitchside, where he reserved a hug for Oli McBurnie, Hull’s Wembley matchwinner, and completed media duties with the host broadcaster TNT Sports.

There were also introductions to be made with Alison Brittain, the Premier League’s chair, and counterparts from Manchester United, a group that includes chief executive Omar Berrada. Only with 15 minutes remaining before kick-off did Ilicali reach the more familiar faces that populate his lounge.

"I’m very excited, of course, but not like Wembley," he says ahead of kick-off. "That’s impossible. There’s nothing to compare with Wembley. There will only be one of those in my whole life. Today is a league game against a big team but it’s a different type of joy. For a league game I will never go to that moon again. Every league game is repairable. We can lose to Manchester United and recover next week. The only thing I want to see from my boys is a team we’re proud of."

He would see that wish granted soon enough. Hull’s performance indicated their fate was anything but a foregone conclusion. There was bite in tackles and danger from set-pieces. A defence that had been the team’s weak point in the regular Championship season, leaking 66 goals from 46 games, barely looked troubled such was its discipline. Hull’s two first-half goals from Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy were both celebrated wildly by Ilicali, flanked by his wife, daughter, brother and nephew.

Response to critics and transfer thoughts

Former England internationals Joe Cole and Carlton Cole were among the most vociferous in the days leading up to the Premier League’s opening weekend, dismissing any notion of survival. "Hull are gone, man," Joe Cole said on the Dressing Room Podcast.

The comments irritated Ilicali, who took to social media in response. "They are football players, they are not advanced television personalities," said Ilicali. "Because of that they can make mistakes. I can accept that. It was a big mistake, yes, it hurt a city. But it should be a good experience for them to not make the same mistakes again."

By the time the MKM Stadium hosts its next fixture, against Aston Villa on the evening of September 5, the transfer deadline will also have passed. A summer that has already brought 11 new signings, including two club records in the shape of goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis and Saturday’s goalscorer Mendy, needs to bring more in the next week or so.

"Maybe we have to believe in our players more and think twice about recruitment," he said. "We still need new players but so many of our players have shown they can play in the Premier League. This should not be missed from our side. Maybe today has changed our minds."

Another whistle-stop visit to England ended with Ilicali’s plane departing Humberside airport at 7pm, four or so hours after the full-time whistle concluded one of Hull’s greatest wins in the Premier League.